CEC 24 members and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza at March
2 town hall. QNS fi le photo
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.2 COM | DEC. 4-DEC. 10, 2020
BY JACOB KAYE
Commonpoint Queens
and Ponce Bank prepared
and packaged 200 Thanksgiving
dishes for Queens
residents in need this holiday
season.
The packages, filled
with side dishes made to
be cooked at home, went to
homebound seniors, singleparent
households and other
people in need.
“We thank Ponce Bank for
their support of our efforts
to meet the needs of community
members in need,” said
Danielle Ellman, the CEO of
Commonpoint Queens. “We
are very grateful for their
support and acknowledgment
of the importance of
our mission and efforts to
serve the community during
this pandemic. Because
of their support more than
150 individuals and families
will have enough to eat this
Thanksgiving.”
The holiday food distribution
was just one part of
Commonpoint Queens’ plans
to feed those in need in the
borough.
Earlier this month, the
nonprofit delivered Thanksgiving
meals to 150 families
enrolled in its program at
Martin Van Buren High
School.
Commonpoint Queens
also boasts three food pantries
in the borough. Its Forest
Hills location (108-13 67th
Rd.) is open Monday through
Friday from 9 a.m. until 2
p.m. Its Little Neck location
(58-25 Little Neck Pkwy.) is
open Monday through Friday
from 9 a.m. until noon,
and its Elmhurst location
(77-17 Queens Blvd.) is open
Monday through Friday
from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
In order to receive food at
the pantries, you must give
your date of birth and driver’s
license or non-driver ID
number.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Community Education
Council District 26 (CEC 26)
has voted “no confidence” in
New York City Schools Chancellor
Richard Carranza,
citing a lack of leadership,
communication and untimely
guidance amid the COVID-19
pandemic.
CEC 26 approved the resolution
on Friday, Nov. 20, noting
that the “vote of no confidence
does not extend to, or
reflect upon, the work of the
council, school administrators,
principals, teachers and
educators.”
The council covers the
neighborhoods of Bayside,
Flushing, Little Neck, Douglaston,
Floral Park, Bellerose,
Glen Oaks, Queens Village
and Jamaica.
The council is calling for
Carranza’s removal from the
NYC Department of Education
as the city’s public school
system — except for private
schools — closed for in-person
learning on Nov. 19 and
through Thanksgiving with
no timeline for reopening.
In a letter to parents, Carranza
had said that the closure
is temporary, and school
buildings will reopen as soon
as it is safe to do so.
Parents say the halting of
in-person learning gave them
no time to make arrangements
for their children to switch to
fully remote learning.
“My daughter is in private
school and they’re open with
all of the protocols in place,”
said Josephine Aordkian.
“Giving parents less than 24
hours’ notice with closures
and no timeline on reopening
is totally unacceptable, especially
for working parents
that have to scramble on how
they will make plans for their
children on remote learning.”
Vito, a father of two children
who attend public school,
said Carranza doesn’t have a
long-term plan ready.
“He shows that he is not
the right person to lead the
largest public school system
in the whole country. During
the pandemic, there have
been multiple incidents where
he did not consider the safety
of students and teachers as a
high priority,” Vito said.
CEC 26 is receiving support
from Councilman Barry
Grodenchik and Assemblyman
David Weprin, who are
taking a stand with the school
community.
“I’m sad that it’s come to
this but I think that we need
to stand up and to be counted,
and to let the people at City
Hall know that the people in
eastern Queens are not happy
with this,” Grodenchik said.
“We have accomplished great
things in this community, and
I have great confidence in our
people.”
Anthony Lemma, a staff
member of Weprin’s office,
said that the lawmaker has
long been supportive of the
district.
“Our superintendents,
teachers, students and everyone
in this district is topnotch,”
Lemma Sr. said. “I
feel that we deserve to have
a chancellor who is also topnotch.”
Meanwhile, the Presidents’
Council of District 26, an organization
of PTA presidents
that supports PTAs and represents
the interests of parents
within the district, also voted
“no confidence” on de Blasio
and Carranza in a statement
released Nov. 12.
Appalled and saddened by
the crisis of the leadership,
the D26 Presidents’ Council
is calling for immediate reinstatement
of the quarterly
opt-in plan.
“The mayor and chancellor’s
last-minute gambit to
pressure parents to upend
their lives once again, in order
to justify a plan that was
unworkable from the start,
is now inflicting more fear,
chaos and instability on an
already emotionally strained
population,” the Council said
in their statement.
In a statement to QNS,
a DOE spokesperson said
the DOE has already
communicated to families
that its pre-pandemic admissions
timeline was being updated
to ensure families have
enough time to explore their
options prior to the process
launching.
“We understand that families,
schools and community
leaders are eager for more
information and we will soon
share more details around a
new timeline including the
deadline for middle, high
school applications and the
dates for SHSAT administration,”
the spokesperson said.
In response the CEC 26 resolution,
the DOE spokesperson
said it does not have any
binding consequences.
Read more on QNS.com.
Commonpoint Queens,
Ponce Bank team up
to feed those in need
during Thanksgiving
CEC 26 votes ‘no confi dence’
in NYC schools chancellor
Photos courtesy of Commonpoint Queens
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